The Pure Uncut.

August 21, 2013

Hip Hop Aint Dead!

You know what time it is!!!! It’s time for Breazy to beat on the storm drums and release The RAIN! With a lull in new hip hop albums this week, I’d like to take the time to address the now ten- year- old theory that hip hop is dead. I must say openly that I have been a staunch advocate for this theory. My reasoning for this is due to the quality of hip hop being played on FM radio stations. I’m showing my age here, but we were fortunate back in the day to get balance in the Tri-State area. The DJ might have spun Geto Boys, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” right after PE’s, “Don’t Trust It” then hit you with the De La, “Buddy-Native Tongue Remix”. So in a nine minute span, I got all in my soul, revolutionary, gangsta, and good vibes. These days, if it ain’t what you wearing, how many mollies can you pop, or what hoodrat is going low, then it’s not getting spins.You can save the eulogies and flowers and shit!

This is the reason why hip hop heads have gravitated by the hundreds to Internet/satellite radio, along with becoming their own DJ with whatever digital MP3 device they own. Now don’t peg me a square who doesn’t enjoy a social life. You’d better believe that General RAIN loves to get it in!! My point is this, I don’t want to Lean Back or Shoulder Lean on my way to the J-O-B. I want to hear something that’ll let me know that it’ll be alright and to keep strong black man, keep strong.

Believe me, I fully understand business and the art of making money, but I can’t condone it when it comes at the price of selling out the masses. You wonder why society is fucked up when you confuse the listener to a twisted point of view that this is socially acceptable. Well, there’s more to this but we are talking music here, not geo-politics.

Recently over the last few years, there has been a renaissance in hip hop that has refuted the myth that hip hop is dead. Actually, hip hop is not at all dead; it’s quite alive and is ready to return to its former glory, as a culture and art form that can be taken seriously. Leading the way is a group of emcees, 30 and younger, who truly understand what it means to grab the mic. Ladies and gentlemen, hip hoppers all around, I present to you my Renaissance School:

These youngins are not only nice with it, but they are all versatile. They bring a certain element that is sorely needed in hip hop and none of them sound like the other. I’m all for balance like I mentioned earlier. Some days I wanna get thuggish; some days I need my soul battery charged; and some days, I just want a brew in hand with a nice juicy ass getting me riled up to get my groove on.

If some of those names aren’t on your radar, then you need to adjust that shit and enjoy. This has been another General RAIN PSA, sponsored by the good people at Border Patrol and Corner Politics!!!!!

Exactly, a lot of us want to turn our noses up at the younger generation while thinking that our hip hop is the begin all end all. If people would stop being lazy and depending on top 40 radio stations they would know that quality hip hop is being made every day, thanks to the internet and youtube people are finding other avenues to get there music out to the masses.

The thing about Hip Hop is, it never died. The irony of the “Hip Hop is dead” conversation is people our age complain about the lack of diversity, content and quality of hip hop that is played on mainstream radio. Back in the 80’s-900’s you were able to hear A Tribe Called Quest, followed by Ice Cube, followed by Arrested Development on the radio, that’s not the case these days. But quality Hip Hop is still being made and thanks to the internet and youtube you can hear quality artists, you just have to stop being lazy and look for it instead of depending on top 40 radio stations. Trust me there are lot of new artists that are keep true Hip Hop alive, they’re just not on the radio.

I gotta weigh in on this topic! I’ve been working on a documentary about this very debate for the last several months! I won’t get into what I am hearing and learning from HipHop artists and media, but I do agree that if you don’t count the pop music out there and only seek out the style of HipHop that you and I dig, then there is PLENTY out there. And yeah I agree that some of the names listed above are leading or are part of a renaissance of HipHop. Technology has got to a point where any clown can make music, however ANYONE can make music. And we all know there are ten thousand, hundreds of thousands of people who agree with us. And they’re making dope music. I can’t keep up with all of them.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting, sorry I’m just getting around to respond to your comment. Even though it may not be popular amongst my age bracket (mid-thirties), I happen to think that we are in the middle of another Golden Era. Just because the revolution is not being televised on mainstream radio, doesn’t mean thought provoking and quality hip hop isn’t being made. We may have dig a little deeper, get out of our comfort zone and get off our asses and actually look for quality music. Besides isn’t something of quality worth the extra effort?